Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOI: 10.1515/ijme-2015-0002
Athanasios Poulis
Faculty of Business, American University of the Middle East
Abstract
In this study, we examined the impact of emotional intelligence on sales performance.
We posited that the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on sales performance was medi‑
ated by adaptive selling behaviour (ASB). Data were collected from 281 sales people in the
financial industries in Malaysia via the WLEIS emotional intelligence scale and ADAPTS
adaptive selling behaviour scale, and were quantitatively analysed using structural equation
modelling (SEM). Results were in keeping with the model. Three domains of EI were not
found to impact sales performance directly but through ASB. Theoretical implications
and managerial ramifications were also discussed.
Introduction
Today’s marketing environment is complex; the market is extremely competitive,
technology is making alternatives and low‑distribution methods possible, product life‑
cycles are accelerating, and customers are becoming less loyal and more sophisticated
while at the same time becoming more demanding. As a result, the nature of buyer‑seller
exchanges and account management has shifted from a simplistic production‑and‑sales
perspective to a more complex role of partnering with customers [Dwyer, Schurr, Oh,
1987; Weitz, Bradford, 1999]. Competing in this environment requires firms to possess
the best possible group of salespeople. Good salespeople continue to have a value in firms
in generating sales and building strong, loyal customer relationships. In fact, salespeople
play a key role not only in customer relationship management but also in understanding,
creating, communicating and delivering values to customers, which in turn increases
the sales performance of the firm [Paparoidomis, Guenzi, 2009; Weitz, Bradford, 1999].
Therefore, it is not surprising that for decades sales management researchers have invested
time in studying determinants of salesperson performance. Researchers have come to agree
that role perception, aptitude, skill level and motivation level are the main determinants
of salesperson performance [Churchill et al., 1985]. Although in recent years there has
been considerable and growing interest in the concept of emotional intelligence [EI] in
the Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources, and Management literature [O’Boyle Jr.
et al., 2010], it has yet to receive sufficient attention in the sales performance literature.
The research areas in the Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources and Manage‑
ment literature stress the importance of EI as a predictor of leadership, negotiation skills,
perception of trust in leader‑member relationship, organizational citizen behaviours,
work‑family conduct, and work performance [Ashkanasy, Daus, 2002; Carmeli, Josman,
2006; Cote, Miner, 2006; Dulewicz et al., 2005; Humprey et al., 2008].
The theory of emotional intelligence was set forth by the Harvard psychologist; Gardner
in 1983. He based his theory upon the social intelligence concept developed by Thorndike
in 1920. Gardner’s concept was then expanded by Mayer and Salovey in the early 1990s;
however, it did not come become popular until Goleman published his book in 1995. The
concept of emotional intelligence has been developed in the fields of neuro‑psychology
and neuro‑science, and focuses on a patterned structure of responses that regulates emo‑
tions: in particular, it focuses on the role of brain connectivity between the amygdale and
the neural cortex [Roche, 2004]. Despite its recent emergence in the literature, it already
includes a large number of domains. Of these many domains, four main approaches to
emotional intelligence have been widely used in recent years – the EQ‑i Bar On; the ECi
Goleman approach; the Four Branch Model of Mayer, Salovey and Caruso [MSCEIT];
and the Four Dimension EI approach of Davies, Stankov and Roberts [1998] [Law et al.,
2004; Rahim, Psenicka, Zhao, Yu, Chan, Kwok Wai et al., 2002]. Although a variety of EI
domains have been conceptualised over the years, the modern interest in EI began with
Mayer and Salovey [1997]. They [1990] describe emotional intelligence as a form of social
intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emo‑
tions, to discriminate among them, and to use them to guide one’s thinking and action.
Their concept of emotional intelligence has been built upon by Mayer et al. [1997; 2000],
who suggest the four‑branch model as the construct of emotional intelligence: (1) the
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34 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
ability to accurately perceive, appraise and express emotion; (2) the ability to use emo‑
tion to facilitate thinking; (3) the ability to understand the temporal course and probable
outcome of emotions; and (4) the ability to regulate emotions effectively. They also claim
that emotional intelligence is a form of intelligence in that the development of emotional
intelligence increases with age [Mayer, Salovey, 1997]. It is important to recognise, however,
that the various theoretical perspectives regarding emotional intelligence are not mutually
exclusive. In a meta‑analytic study, Van Roy and Viswesvaran [2004, p. 72] described EI
as “the set of abilities [verbal and non‑verbal] that enable persons to generate, recognize,
express, understand, and evaluate their own, and others’, emotion in order to guide think‑
ing and action that successfully cope with environmental demands and pressures.” In this
study, we adopt the Law, Wong and Song EI measures, WLEIS [2004], which are based
on Mayer and Salovey [1997] and Mayer et al. [2000] This EI theoretical model examines
the four domains of EI separately.
Given that EI was initially made known through a series of articles [Gibbs, 1995] and
trade books [Goleman, 1995; 1998] with little or no analytic evidence established, it is
not surprising that EI has received robust criticism by few scholars and has received less
attention among sales management researchers. For example, EI is often considered as
an elusive and vague concept and as more of a myth than a science [Matthew et al., 2004].
These initial negative opinions on EI, according to Mayer et al. [2004], resulted from
the lack of empirical research evidence. Although there is much argument surrounding
the nature and validity of EI, it is also clear that the concept and domain of EI has been
gradually accepted in numerous studies [Davies et al., 1998; Mayer et al., 1997; 2004; Law
et al., 2004; Chrusciel, 2006]. For example, several empirical studies have found a positive
association between EI and performance [e.g., Dulewicz et al., 2005; Jennings, Palmer,
2007; O’Boyle Jr. et al., 2011; Semadar et al., 2006]. O’Boyle Jr. et al. [2011], in their meta
‑analysis, found a relationship between EI and job performance over and above cognitive
intelligence and the personality traits in all three streams studied. They concluded that “EI
represents one important predictor of job performance’ [O’Boyle Jr. et al., 2011, p. 806].
Similarly, Van Roy and Viswevaran [2004] provide empirical support for the positive impact
of EI on performance. In contrast, others found an inconsistent or non‑existent relation
between EI and performance on particular tasks [Austin, 2004], academic performance
[Petrides et al., 2004], and supervisory ratings [Wong, Law, 2002]. Interestingly, Tae and
Won‑Moo [2011] found that three domains of EI – appraisal of emotions, optimism, and
social skills – were negatively related to job performance.
Although the previous empirical studies have been helpful in contributing to the
body of knowledge, our present study builds upon the literature in a few ways. First,
there are few empirical studies in sales literature focusing on the impact of EI on sales
performance. Since EI is a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor
one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use
them to guide one’s thinking and action [Mayer, Salovey, 1997], it would be fair to argue
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Emotional Intelligence – Sales Performance Relationship: A Mediating Role of Adaptive... 35
these are some of the skills required for building relationships between salespeople and
clients, which in turn could influence sales performance. Second, few empirical stud‑
ies have examined the components of EI domains that impact performance separately.
As Carmeli and Josman’s empirical study points out, “it is not clear which emotional
intelligence components implicate which type of work performance . . . it is important to
establish which specific components of the emotional intelligence model relate to work
outcomes” [Carmeli, Josman, 2006, p. 415]. We respond to Carmeli and Josman [2006]
by examining the impact of various EI domains on sales performance separately. Third,
Cote and Miners [2006] conclude that the relationship of EI to performance is not always
linear. In response, we argue that the effect of EI on sales performance can be extended
through a mediator.
In particular, this study addresses the following two broad research questions:
•• To what extent does EI influence the sales performance of a salesperson?
•• Does adapted selling behaviour mediate the relationship between EI and sales per‑
formance?
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36 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
norm, which in turn affects the team performance. Dulewicz et al. [2005], in studying the
leadership of navy officers across seven different ranks, found that EI accounts for the great‑
est contribution to overall performance. Another study that took place in a retail industry
found that EI was negatively related with workplace distress and stress, and positively
related with emotional well‑being, morale, quality of work life, and overall performance
ratings [Slaski, Cartwright, 2003]. Interestingly, although Wong and Law [2002] found
that the EI of leaders was positively related to job satisfaction and extra‑role behaviours
of followers, no relationship was found between the EI of leaders and the job performance
of their followers. Similarly, Feyerherm and Rice [2002] discovered that the higher the EI
of the team leader, the worse the team’s performance, concluding that highly emotional
intelligent people tend to focus on their own performance and hence neglect the team.
Langhorn [2004] found no support for the view that age‑related EI was associated with
performance. A person with high EI may employ their abilities to develop good social
relationships that can boost task performance through advice and social support [Wong
& Law, 2002]. For instance, the ability to be empathetic and understand both one’s own
emotions and the emotions of others would enable one to establish a rapport with and
effectively manage subordinates [Semadar et al., 2006]. Further, the ability to manage
and control emotional states such as anger and frustration can be conducive to a more
stable working environment [Newsome et al., 2000]. In addition, Cote and Miners [2006]
found that EI is an important predictor of job performance due to its interactive effect
with cognitive intelligence. Previous research has also explicitly proposed that EI relates
to task performance in independent and complementary linear ways [Mayer et al., 2000;
Cote et al., 2003]. Bardzil and Slaski [2003] suggest that if a manager has interpersonal
skills [one of the emotional intelligence constructs], then s/he can evaluate the emotional
states of customers in order to identify their needs [Chrusciel, 2006]. This could lead to
gaining competitive advantage. This suggestion is supported by Longhorn’s [2004] empiri‑
cal study on the restaurant industry. The study that uses Bar‑On EQ‑i [1997] measures
found that EI is positively related to customer satisfaction, which in turn increases the
performance of the firm [Longhorn, 2004]. Interestingly, the study also found that EI is
able to predict team turnover.
In the sales literature, it is recognized that the sales account management job requires
a sales account manager to deal with emotional skills and maintain self‑control when
under pressure in almost all sales tasks [Churchill et al., 1988]. Researchers have found
that a salesperson’s performance is related to his/her ability to manage various social
problems and deal with motivational and emotional problems that arise due to negative
feedback and failures [Brown et al., 1997]. A salesperson is also required to understand
the feelings of others and the reasons behind them in order to persuade them into entering
the sales‑purchase contract. A salesperson of high emotional intelligence will be resilient
and able to maintain self‑control and deal with difficult situation [Sjoberb, Littorin, 2003].
Summarising the discussion above, we hypothesise the following:
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38 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
Law, 2002]. Based on this argument, it is fair to predict that ASB mediates the relationship
between EI and sales performance. Hence, we posit the following:
H2a: EI -1: The effect of self‑emotion appraisal on sales performance is mediated by
adaptive selling behaviour.
H2b: EI-2: The effect of others‑emotion appraisal on sales performance is mediated by
adaptive selling behaviour.
H2c: EI-3: The effect of use of emotion appraisal on sales performance is mediated by
adaptive selling behaviour.
H2d: EI-4: The effect of use of regulation of emotion on sales performance is mediated
by adaptive selling behaviour.
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S o u r c e : own elaboration.
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection
Data were collected from account managers in the financial industry in Malaysia. The
survey was distributed to 1441 account managers in December 2011, drawn randomly
from the 29 finance companies including stock broking houses in Malaysia that were reg‑
istered with Central Bank (Bank Negara). Subsequently 281 usable replies were received,
yielding a 19.5 % response rate. Twenty randomly selected non‑responding managers were
contacted by telephone to directly ascertain reasons for non‑response. This revealed that
the main reasons were (1) ineligibility, such as no longer having direct contact or making
sales presentations to customers, or (2) time constraints which prevented participation
in the survey.
Measures
To measure EI, we used the self‑rating emotional intelligence scale WLEIS [Law,
Wong, Song, 2004]. WLEIS was developed based on the EI theoretical concepts of Mayer
and Salovey [1997]. This measure has been validated and replicated by many scholars.
To conclude the validity of WLEIS, O’Boyle Jr. et al. stressed that “specifically, more
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40 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
Emotional Intelligence
Cronbach Alpha
Variables α
Sample No. of items
EI 1 – Self‑Emotions .89 4
EI 2 – Others Emotion .91 4
EI 3 – Use of Emotion .89 4
EI 4 – Regulation of Emotion .87 4
S o u r c e : own elaboration.
We also used Exploratory Factor Analysis testing to examine whether the four EI
dimensions would emerge as separate factors. Because we are more interested in under‑
standing the correlations among constructs and have expected these constructs to be
somewhat correlated to each other, the Principal Factor Analysis method with Varimax
rotation was selected as the rotation method [Leech et al., 2014]. We ran a single factor
analysis on all sixteen [16] EI indicators and managed to extract 4 factors. The sample
accounts for 69.64 % of the variance in total, indicating strong support for the separation
of EI items into four distinct variables: EI self‑emotions, EI others‑emotions, EI use of
emotion, and EI regulation of emotion. Table 2 details out the results.
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Emotional Intelligence – Sales Performance Relationship: A Mediating Role of Adaptive... 41
Adaptive selling behaviour was measured via seven items from the adaptive selling
scale (ADAPTS), first developed by Spiro and Weitz [1990]. The items for ASB include
“I treat all customers pretty much the same”. This was measured on a 5‑point Likert scale
with the endpoint anchors being ‘Strongly Disagree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’. The measure
also proved to be adequately reliable by its coefficient alpha of .80. Table 3 presents fac‑
tor loadings for ASB items for the sample. The results are all substantial and statistically
significant. The scale reliability for ADAPTS has a coefficient alpha of .92.
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42 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
Items
Factor Loadings Communalities
ASB7 – I change my approach from one customer to another. .77 .73
ASB5 – I treat all customers pretty much the same. –.74 .70
ASB6 – I like to experiment with different sales approaches. .70 .792
ASB1 – I am flexible in the selling approach I use. .67 .65
ASB4 – I do not use a set sales approach. .62 .74
ASB2 – I can easily use a wide variety of selling approaches. .61 .65
ASB3 – I vary my sales style from situation to situation. .61 .68
Determinant .003
Kaiser‑Meyer‑Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy .771
Sigma .000
S o u r c e : own elaboration.
We adopted both subjective and objective performance measures. The objective per‑
formance measure is defined as the percentage of accounts held over the annual target for
the previous three years. The item for objective performance was “What were your actual
sales compared to target sales during each of the last three years expressed as a percentage?
For example 10 % above write as 110 %; 20 % below write as 80 %”. Subjective performance
was measured by a self‑assessed general performance measure developed by Farh et al.
[1991]. Four items were included, such as “I make sales with the highest profit margin”.
The reliability of the scale has a coefficient alpha of .91.
Results
The first step in using SEM to test the model is to build the baseline measurement
model. When the measurement model was not appropriately fit, we revised the result by
assessing the parameter estimates and the modification indices [M.I] or standard residual.
As suggested by Byrne [2013], we then eliminated and/or re‑estimated the errors and/
or parameters accordingly. The baseline model consists of the following variables: the
independent variables [emotional intelligence, self‑emotion, others‑emotion, use of emo‑
tion and regulation of emotion]; the mediating variable [adaptive selling behaviour]; and
dependent variables of sales performance.
We first examined the measurement model by conducting CFA on 7 latent variables
and 28 indicators [comprised of 16 indicators for emotional intelligence, 7 indicators
for ASB, 4 indicators for subjective sales performance, and one for objective sales per‑
formance]. The Goodness Fit of Index indicated that the initial model did not fit the data
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Emotional Intelligence – Sales Performance Relationship: A Mediating Role of Adaptive... 43
well. We found the primary reason for the first run not fitting was that the model solu‑
tion was not admissible. Specifically we spotted a high cross loading of objectives sales
performance on composite 2 [M.I. 75.150; Par Change .821], 3 [M.I. 77.459; Par Change
.911] and 4 [M.I. 69.972; Par Change .582] of subjective performance, pointing towards
a redundancy in the measures. Additionally the bivariate correlation between subjective
and objective performance was high [r = .713] indicating possibility of multicollinearity.
This redundancy however has been noted in previous studies [Viswesvaran et al., 1996].
Following the suggestion of Kline [2010] and Byrne [2013], in dealing with multicol‑
linearity, we combined the two constructs into one; that is we dropped objective sales
performance latent from the model but its observed indicator was parcelled into one and
loaded onto subjective sales performance.
We then retested the model and repeated the process until we found the model that
fitted to the Goodness Fit Index. In the process, we re‑estimated the following errors as
the modification index for these errors were found high; re‑estimated error EI8 (“I have
a good understanding of the emotions of people around me”) and error EI6 (“I am a good
observer of others emotion”), re‑estimated error EI12 (“I would always encourage myself
to try my best”) and error E19 (“I always set goals for myself and try my best to achieve
them”), and re‑estimated error EI16 (“I have a good control of my own emotions”) and
error EI14 (“I am quite capable of controlling my own emotions”).
A summary of the baseline measurement model is depicted in Table 4. Figure 2 shows
the final Measurement Model.
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44 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
S o u r c e : own elaboration.
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Following the establishment of our baseline model, we then tested our hypotheses.
Table 6 presents the regression results.
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46 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
S o u r c e : own elaboration.
Discussion
The emotional intelligence–sales performance relationship is relatively easy to inter‑
pret. Consistent with Hypothesis H1b, the second domain of EI [i.e., others‑emotions] has
a positive impact on sales performance. This finding aligns with several meta‑analyses such
as O’Boyle et al. [2011], Joseph and Newman [2010] and Van Rooy and Viswesran [2004].
Emotionally intelligent individuals who are able to recognize others’ emotions are adapt‑
able and flexible in handling change [Chrusciel, 2006; Goleman, 1998; Wang, Law, 2002].
They have the ability to monitor others’ feelings and emotions, discriminate among them,
and use this evaluation to guide their thinking and actions [Salovey, Mayer, 1997]. The
ability to recognize these emotions contributes to effective social interaction, an aptitude
that a successful salesperson arguably needs [Churchill et al., 1985]. Given the concept
of EI 2, in the case of emotionally intelligent salespeople, they have the ability to monitor
others’ feelings and needs and act accordingly to meet those needs. Arguably, these are
also some of the skills required to practise ASB [Borg, Johnston, 2013; Spiro, Weitz, 1990].
This phenomenon clarifies the rationale behind the current study’s findings.
Our hypotheses concerning other domains of EI [i.e., H1a, H1c and H1d] were not
supported. One possible explanation concerns how EI may predict job performance dif‑
ferently [Hough, 2003] and not always be in a linear relationship of cause and effect [Cote,
Miners, 2006]. Although when considered directly, three domains of EI are not related
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to sales performance, the results of the current study show that these three domains link
to sales performance through ASB, demonstrating partial mediation in the absence of
direct effect. This indicates the importance of a synergistic combination of emotional
intelligence and adaptive skills, which in turn links emotional intelligence to sales perform‑
ance indirectly. The findings of our study add value to the emotional intelligence–sales
performance literature by providing insights on how the relationship actually occurs. Our
findings concur with Cote and Miners [2006], who implied that the impact of EI on job
performance is not always a linear effect.
Three interesting implications were made by the study in relation to ASB. First, the
findings of the current study support the contingency theory of ASB proposed by Weitz
et al. [1986], which claimed that ASB is an important determinant of a sales performance
among salespeople. The results of the current study have shown that ASB explains about
3 % of the variations in sales performance. This is conspicuous compared to the meta
analysis conducted by Churchill et al. [1985] which found that the average of variation
in sales performance associated with ASB is less than 4 %. These results serve not only to
add clarity to a number of previously unclear and contentious relationships but also to
extend the understanding of the overall ASB process.
Second, the findings have also shown that ASB serves as a mediator between EI and
sales performance. These findings are noteworthy and support the notion of few scholars
who argued that a salesperson’s traits such as empathy, self‑motivation and locus of control
are related to the practice of adaptive selling [Borg, Johnston, 2013; Spiro, Weitz, 1990].
This study employs the WLEIS scale to measure EI. Among other things, the scale assesses
the level of self‑motivation, understanding of the emotion of others, and the ability to
control one’s temper and emotions, indicating that if a person scores high in EI, s/he will
tend to be self‑motivated, have a good understanding of the emotions of others, including
customers, and be able to control his/her own emotions.
Third, it is also worth noting that the results of the current study support the claim
that adaptation during the sales presentation is an activity engaged in by most salespeople
in a context where the buying units and offerings are complex and each customer affords
a significant medium- to long‑term profit potential [Giacobbe et al., 2006; Kidwell et al.,
2007]. The mean rating for ASB in the present study is relatively high (3.53), indicat‑
ing that the respondents are highly adaptive with regard to the sales presentation. The
industry studied here is comprised of financial firms that deal with complex investment
products such as shares, debentures, unit trusts and bonds that arguably provide significant
medium- to long‑term profit potential.
On the methodological front, although it is not central to the research questions
addressed in this study, it is worth noting that we found the correlation between objective
and subjective performance was relatively high (r=.713) indicating possible multicollinear‑
ity [Byrne, 2013]. Indeed this was the case when we ran the Confirmatory Factor Analy‑
ses (CFA). The comparison of our results with those of Pransky et al. [2006] is interesting
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48 Zazli Lily Wisker, Athanasios Poulis
and important. Pransky et al. [2006] suggest the objective and subjective performance are
distinct from one another; and that both tend to emphasise different aspect of perform‑
ance. However the findings of our current study lean toward the argument that objective
performance and subjective performance measure similar criteria, indicating they appear
to be one dimension [Viswesvaran et al., 1996].
Managerial Implications
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, personal selling plays a critical role in
ensuring the firm’s ability to understand customers’ needs, which in turn increases the
volume of profitable sales [Giacobe et al., 2006]. Several studies have found that sales‑
people play a key role in customer relationship management in terms of understanding,
communicating, and delivering value to customers; thus, today’s relationship marketing
focuses on interpersonal communication building and maintenance of relationships with
the customers as opposed to short‑term sales [Gummerson, 2008; Paparoidamis, Guenzi,
2009; Weitz, Bradford, 1999]. In today’s complex market, salespeople not only need to
have good interpersonal communication skills to communicate with both internal and
external customers, but also must be able to adapt, empathize and recognize others’ emo‑
tions. This study’s findings show that emotionally intelligent individuals are adaptable and
flexible in handling change and have the ability to monitor others’ feelings and emotions,
discriminate among them, and use this evaluation to guide their thinking and behaviour.
Arguably, these are some of the elements needed to effectively develop good interpersonal
communication skills with both internal and external customers. When salespeople and
customers are mutually committed to the relationship, they are motivated to maintain
the relationship’s existence in the long run and strive for mutual benefit [Paparoidamis,
Guenzi, 2009; Weitz, Bradford, 1999].
Additionally, we found a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and
adaptive selling behaviour; this has several managerial implications. First, when recruit‑
ing account managers, firms need to focus on potential candidates who (a) can facilitate
social interactions with target customers, (b) have a high level of emotional intelligence,
and (c) have the ability and skills to practise adaptive selling. Firms should also provide
training and motivation in order to impose and instill this aptitude in salespeople. This
has become especially important as traditional communication activities, such as TV and
radio advertising, have become very costly and competitive.
Several studies have established that the relational behaviour of salespeople, such as
adaptive selling, are the antecedents of relationship marketing, which in turn affects the
effectiveness of sales performance [Jones et al., 2003; Paparoidamis, Guenzi, 2009]. In this
study, we found that the aptitude of sales people, such as their ability to adapt their selling
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Emotional Intelligence – Sales Performance Relationship: A Mediating Role of Adaptive... 49
technique, influences their sales performance. Consequently, firms need to recruit potential
salespeople who have the ability to recognize others’ emotion and to adapt when meeting
the needs of relationship marketing. Nonetheless, this is an area that future study could
develop further. It is hoped that this study will act as a catalyst to help further research
address this gap.
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